Category: OpenStack

Linux distributor SUSE recently announced the finalization of an agreement to acquire OpenStack and Cloud Foundry assets from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE). The agreement enables SUSE to incorporate OpenStack IaaS technology into the SUSE OpenStack Cloud as well as take advantage of HPE’s Cloud Foundry PaaS to ramp up SUSE’s entry into the PaaS space. SUSE’s acquisition of OpenStack and Cloud Foundry technology and talent positions it to deliver a stronger OpenStack Cloud offering to its customers. Meanwhile, SUSE’s acquisition of HPE’s Cloud Foundry assets signals SUSE’s recognition of the importance of PaaS platforms to emergent DevOps and cloud-native application development practices. SUSE’s acquisition of HPE’s OpenStack and Cloud Foundry technology and talent marks the emergence of another critical player to the commercial OpenStack space whose deep experience commercializing open source software qua Linux bodes well for its ability to productize OpenStack for the enterprise. HPE has agreed to designate SUSE as its preferred partner for OpenStack, Cloud Foundry and Linux technologies in a move that bolsters SUSE’s acquisition further, particularly given that HPE plans to OEM the SUSE OpenStack Cloud and Cloud Foundry PaaS within its Helion and Stackato solutions. Stay tuned for the emergence of SUSE’s Cloud Foundry PaaS because part of the success of SUSE’s IaaS offering is likely to hinge on its ability to offer turnkey PaaS offerings on its OpenStack-based IaaS platform.

ZeroStack recently announced a partnership with T5 Data Centers and Colovore that will expand the range of deployment options available to customers of its OpenStack-based private cloud solution. As a result of the partnership, T5 Data Centers and Colovore will host ZeroStack’s Z-Block Cloud Appliance within their infrastructures. The collaboration between ZeroStack and T5 Data Centers and Colovore means that customers can now leverage the experience of either of its two Managed Service Provider (MSPs) partners to operationalize their deployments, whereas previously they were limited to hosting ZeroStack on-premise. The streamlined path toward private cloud deployment delivered by ZeroStack’s partner MSPs promise to expand ZeroStack’s footprint in the commercial OpenStack private cloud space by appealing to customers interested in a hybrid cloud environment for their deployments. In addition, both MSPs offer their own marketing and sales channels for ZeroStack, thereby further expanding the avenues by which prospective private cloud customers stand to learn about ZeroStack’s private cloud solution. Meanwhile, T5 Data Centers and Colovore stand to gain from the partnership by offering the capability to host ZeroStack’s OpenStack-based private cloud solution and serving the needs of an ever expanding base of enterprise customers interested in private cloud infrastructures. All told, the partnership between ZeroStack and T5 Data Centers and Colovore promises to expedite the on-ramp to the private cloud by giving customers enhanced flexibility with respect to their deployment models. Importantly, the partnership strengthens the positioning of ZeroStack within the commercial OpenStack space and solidifies its brand as a significant player in the private cloud space.

ZeroStack today announced the availability of its zApp Store, a one stop shopping marketplace that delivers templates for applications that can be used for ZeroStack’s OpenStack-based, IaaS platform. ZeroStack’s zApp Store enables ZeroStack customers to download templates for Jenkins, Cassandra, Hadoop and Spark, thereby enabling users of the company’s Z-Block Cloud Appliance to accelerate the deployment of popular platforms in the contemporary database, automation and Big Data space. ZeroStack customers can use the zApp Store to download and deploy frameworks such as Hadoop and MySQL with one click and subsequently add value to their IaaS private cloud deployments in a matter of minutes. The graphic below illustrates some of the frameworks available to ZeroStack customers within its zApp store:

The availability of the zApp Store marks yet another differentiator for ZeroStack’s appliance-based, private cloud platform in the commercial, OpenStack-based IaaS space by delivering a turnkey private cloud solution that simplifies the process of operationalizing OpenStack-based clouds. The ZeroStack cloud runs on-premise, behind a company’s firewall, but is administered by the ZeroStack Cloud Portal, a SaaS application that manages upgrades, intelligent automation and the self-healing qualities of the infrastructure. Because the ZeroStack cloud runs on-premise, it delivers a degree of security that enables customers to onboard sensitive workloads while enjoying the elasticity and self-service capabilities of the cloud in conjunction with pricing that parallels the economics of the public cloud. As told to Cloud Computing Today in a phone interview with ZeroStack’s VP of Marketing, Steve Garrison, ZeroStack plans to release periodic announcements regarding additions to its zStore as part of a sustained effort to enhance and streamline the availability of widely used IT frameworks for its customers. Expect more exciting product enhancements from ZeroStack as it sharpens its differentiation in the commercial OpenStack space and builds upon the momentum from its May 10 global partner channel and reseller announcement.

This week, VMware announced the release of VMware Integrated OpenStack 2.5, a platform for building OpenStack clouds using VMware vSphere, NSX and Virtual SAN. As of this release, customers can import vSphere VM templates directly into the VMware Integrated OpenStack infrastructure. By importing VM templates into OpenStack, customers can enjoy the benefits of reduced data import time periods and accelerated deployments, as a result. This version also features support for VMware NSX and a simplified architecture that requires customers to commit few hardware resources to their deployments. The release of VMware Integrated OpenStack 2.5 solidifies OpenStack’s position in the IaaS space as the de facto architecture for private clouds that boasts increased capabilities to integrate with the VMware-based infrastructures that are ubiquitous within the enterprise. Conversely, the platform positions VMware as eminently capable of integrating with OpenStack and illustrates the potential for important synergies between VMware and OpenStack.

This week, the Volkswagen Group joined the Cloud Foundry Foundation as a silver member. By joining the Cloud Foundry Foundation, the Volkswagen Group will provide thought leadership and input about how Cloud Foundry can more effectively serve its needs and those of the automotive industry in general. The decision by the Volkswagen Group to join the Cloud Foundry Foundation as a silver member illustrates the trend of tighter integration between the automotive industry and cloud-based platforms that accelerate, streamline and simplify application development across public and private clouds. Moreover, Volkswagen’s sponsorship underscores and builds upon its commitment to open source cloud technologies as evinced by its April 6, 2016 announcement of its decision to select OpenStack as the IaaS cloud platform to undergird its IT innovation and automation projects. Expect more automotive manufacturers to support Cloud Foundry, going forward, as the platform increasingly supports the development and delivery of Internet of Things and telematics-related applications for automobile manufacturers and consumers, alike.

In preparation for OpenStack Summit in Austin, Cloud Computing Today decided to share a “Demonstration of Core Services” of OpenStack Mitaka, the 13th release of OpenStack from the OpenStack Foundation. Read the press release associated with its April 7 launch here as well as notes about the release from Mirantis and IBM. Key themes from the Mitaka release focus around improvements in user experience, manageability and scalability.

Overall, today’s announcements reveal an integrated cloud platform that bridges public and private clouds, IaaS and PaaS platforms and development and operations teams. While product integration represents the larger theme from today’s announcement, both Red Hat OpenStack Platform 8 and the Red Hat Cloud Suite focus on delivering a turnkey, hybrid cloud portfolio of products that wisely avoids the trap of boiling the ocean by offering up an integrated cloud, Big Data and analytics infrastructure. Instead, Red Hat has chosen to focus on delivering an integrated platform for hybrid cloud deployment and management in conjunction with its OpenShift PaaS that gives customers a full stack of cloud infrastructure and application options that tap into its expertise and deep roots in productizing open source technologies for the enterprise.